Review by Felix on July 30, 2026.

"Rising From The Sea" has stood in the shadow of Exumer's mighty debut since its release back in 1987. This did not happen by chance. The song material suffers from different flaws. The title track is simply too long (eight verses, oh dear), and the squeaky solos of "Decimation" kill the power of the song, to give just two examples. By contrast, the personnel changes did not play a significant role. Mem von Stein had left the gang, and his successor, a child of his time, welcomed the listener with a high-pitched scream. This was slightly misleading, because Paul Arakaki did not focus on high tones. He had a more or less powerful style of singing. Charisma did not belong to the defining features of his rather monotonous voice, but all in all, his performance was okay.

The entire A-side is focused on high velocity and nothing else. Due to this self-imposed limitation, the whole band seems to be on the run. This does not mean that the four songs suck, but sharp, catchy riffs remain rare, and therefore something is missing. The tunes do not reach a certain depth. They hit, they kick, but at the end of the day, they just pass by without causing much of an effect. "Unearthed," the opener of the B-side, promises help. A strong, slightly weird riff introduces the track, and it leaves its mark on the multifaceted song, which does not shy away from some slower parts. Very courageous experiment! Once again, the solo fails to hit the bull's eye, and the emotional ending is pretty dubious. Nevertheless, "Unearthed" impressively reveals the songwriting skills of the formation.

By and large, the complete work has a tendency toward hardcore eruptions. One finds a lot of very straightforward sections that lack melody. Even trace elements of harmony remain undiscoverable, and the somersaulting chorus of "Are You Deaf?" borders on parody. Its duration of only two minutes already tells the adepts of the thrash cult that Exumer wanted to leave their metallic prison for a short time. Furthermore, the band seemed to be familiar with a rare album called "Reign In Blood"—just listen to the beginning of "Shadows Of The Past." Anyway, a forgivable sin and maybe just a testimony to the band's energy. It constitutes the driving force for the highlight of the album as well. "I Dare You" seems to be just another high-velocity torpedo, but don't jump to conclusions. The cleverly used double bass adds an extra iota of profound power and lends the chorus a certain catchiness.

In terms of production, the full-length does not show any serious deficiencies—and it does not score with brilliant details either. Thus, one can say that the song material and its technical execution go hand in hand.

So let's be honest here. "Possessed By Fire" had given rise to great expectations, but there was a good reason why Exumer failed to join the top positions of the (West) German thrash scene. Its name is "Rising From The Sea." Given this background, I recommend this album only to genre maniacs with a very generous mindset (or to reviewers who hate to give less than 94%).

Rating: 7 out of 10